UALR women's basketball Coach Joe Foley said he wasn't sure how much senior guard Ka'Nesheia Cobbins would be able to contribute on Saturday after she turned an ankle in Thursday's practice.
Foley, as it turned out, could have not hoped for much more than he received.
Cobbins winced through 38 minutes in UALR's 69-60 victory over Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. It came two days after she turned an ankle, and one day after she sat out Friday's practice trying to recover.
Cobbins, flanked by seniors Taylor Gault and Kiera Clark in a postgame news conference, said she never really thought about not playing in what could have been her last game for the Trojans.
"I just knew I had to tough it out," she said. "I didn't want to leave the rest of my teammates hanging. We made it this far, so I did whatever it took."
Foley said after Friday's practice he was hoping Cobbins could play. But even when the Trojans arrived to the arena Saturday, Foley said he wasn't sure. Cobbins wasn't listed among UALR's starters when they were distributed to reporters before the game.
But Cobbins started, scored 4 points, had 6 rebounds and 4 assists without committing a turnover.
"All I was waiting for from her was to go through warm-ups and tell me 'Coach, I'm ready to go,'" Foley said. "I said 'Do you want to go or sit?' She said 'Coach, I'm going.' I was just waiting on her."
Cobbins said the pain wasn't noticeable during the game.
"Once my adrenaline got going, it wasn't about my ankle," she said. "It was about my teammates, getting stops and converting on offense."
700 club
UALR Coach Joe Foley said on Friday that a victory Saturday would be the biggest of his career because it would come in the NCAA Tournament. That it would also be his 700th victory as a head coach did not matter.
Foley stayed true to that Saturday, after his UALR team beat Texas A&M 69-60. Foley said beating Coach Gary Blair for the first time in six tries, and having it come in the NCAA Tournament, ranks among the most memorable of his career.
"It's tops right now," Foley said. "Top game. It's unbelievable, playing against a friend, never beat him before. Playing in the NCAA Tournament. Youv'e got to put that right up there at the top.
"That was fun."
Dawn arrives
UALR earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament thanks in part to Alexius Dawn making 15 three-pointers in three Sun Belt conference Tournament games.
But Dawn struggled early Saturday in her first NCAA tournament. She missed her first six shots and finished with 6 points on 1-of-8 shooting, including 1 for 5 from three-point range.
Her one basket came with UALR clinging to a 48-46 lead with 8:11 left, and it was a big one. Dawn's three-pointer made it 51-46, and the Trojans never led by less than three points the rest of the game.
"We were dead tired," Texas A&M Coach Gary Blair said. "She had an open look and we coudln't get to it."
Early exit
Texas A&M (23-10) had an eight-game winning streak in first-round NCAA Tournament games end. The Aggies had not lost since the 2006 tournament.
The Aggies, ranked No. 5 in the polls to start the season, lost three of their final four games.
"We've got to look ourselves in the mirror and find out what are we going to do to become a top 10 basketball team again," said Texas A&M Coach Gary Blair, who completed his 12th season with the Aggies after 10 seasons at Arkansas. "Maybe getting kicked in the butt and slapped around a little is going to be good for us."
Tough on tough
Arizona State guard Katie Hempen didn't watch much of UALR's victory over Texas A&M on Saturday, but the Trojans made an impression.
"They're a tough team," Hempen said. "It's who is the toughest team? I think it's going to be a really fun matchup. It's going to be exciting."
Coach Charli Tuner Thorne said she didn't wait long after her team's victory over Ohio to tell it about UALR.
"I said 'Did you guys see how tough they are?' You see it. You see when people don't complain. They get fouled, they just play," Turner Thorne said. "Nothing really bothers them. That's what we saw from that team. I think that's why they're where they're at."
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Sports on 03/22/2015